The Grocery Store.
Lip seriously suspected Dexter had a scheme, his mind racing rapidly.
Unfortunately, street smarts are just street smarts; they don't amount to much in the big leagues.
A long while later.
Lip, unable to figure out what the hell Dexter was planning, had to choose to give up for the moment. He switched tracks, deciding to take things one step at a time: first, ride the wave and solve the problem of getting Ian home, then slowly figure out Dexter's objective later.
The negotiation between the brothers continued.
Ian actually still didn't want to go back, but Carl was moving back. Things having reached this point, he didn't have a choice... After all, he couldn't afford the expenses of that house on his own...
Finally.
Ian relented, though he still stubbornly laid out some demands. "I can move back, but I'm saying this clearly upfront: I don't want to get dragged down by you guys again. I'm not willing to go back to juvie because of you."
"After I move back, if I find you guys pulling any criminal crap, or doing drugs in the house... the moment I find anything that could implicate me, I'm moving out immediately!"
Lip didn't like Ian's attitude!
In Lip's view, for the Gallaghers, wasn't doing a little drugs normal? What was the problem?
As for crime...
Same logic!
Besides, without crime, how would they get money? How would the Gallaghers survive?
Were they really supposed to work honestly? Like a bunch of suckers, being led by the nose by society and the system?
What future was there in being led by the system?
To live a good life, you had to exploit the system's loopholes, jump out of the system, or even screw the system over.
The fact is, strictly speaking, this way of thinking wasn't actually wrong... After all, no matter which country's system it is, the underlying principle is designed to make the vast majority of ordinary people work honestly like beasts of burden, serving the ruling class.
For ordinary people to shed the status of beasts of burden, sticking to the rules makes it basically impossible; they have to find loopholes and jump out of the system.
The problem is, to succeed, one must have sufficient capability. Otherwise, the system's punishment is no joke.
And Lip... just felt he had that capability; he didn't really possess it.
Lip fell silent for a few seconds, nodded, and agreed. "Okay, no problem."
Lip didn't intend to actually follow through... So, same as before: no matter what, get Ian back first. Future problems can be dealt with in the future. Anyway, Ian was soft; Lip believed it wouldn't be a big issue.
At this moment, Ian, who was essentially being forced to move back, was in a bad mood. He thought for a moment, too lazy to waste more breath on Lip. "That's it then. I have to work. You go."
The goal was achieved, so there was no point in staying... And, like Ian, Lip couldn't be bothered to nag anymore. He stood up decisively. "Alright. See you tonight."
Saying goodbye, Lip walked straight out on his crutches.
Mandy was still outside the grocery store, conflicted about the job versus Lip issue.
"It's settled. Let's go," Lip didn't know what Mandy was doing out there and didn't care. He smiled at her and spoke.
Seeing Lip and hearing his voice, Mandy couldn't help but feel a bit happier. She smiled brightly. "Okay."
Soon.
The two got in the car and headed straight for the park.
Entering the park grounds, Lip had a thought. He didn't rush to the old spot to do business, but instead chose to drive toward a corner.
Mandy was quite sharp in this regard. She didn't need Lip to say a word to understand what he meant.
So.
The moment the car stopped, Mandy immediately leaned over and started getting busy.
This kind of intuitive behavior gave Lip a sense of superiority. Arrogant as he was, he naturally liked this feeling very much. He closed his eyes and started to enjoy it.
A short while later.
So far today, there had been too many annoying things occupying his mental energy, so Lip basically hadn't had any free time to think about Karen. Now, he couldn't control it—he thought of Karen...
Karen's image appeared in his mind. Lip felt sad and upset. Then, he substituted Mandy for Karen, imagining it was Karen servicing him...
Lip really liked Karen. Therefore, thinking about it, he decided not to do business this afternoon. He would go find Karen and get back together with her!
Yes.
Lip believed he and Karen could get back together.
For no other reason than this:
He had just fcked Mandy, but he didn't love Mandy. What was the big deal?
Didn't Karen fck Mickey before?
Lip believed this wasn't a big problem. A night had passed; Karen shouldn't be angry anymore.
Just like that.
Lip closed his eyes, using his twisted worldview to rationalize everything.
Mandy, completely unaware, kept working busily, harboring a heart full of happiness.
---
The Apartment.
After waking up today feeling incredibly relaxed, Karen had dressed up specifically for the occasion, changing into a new outfit. Looking truly fresh and beautiful, she was currently chatting with a young couple who wanted to rent a room.
This was the young couple's first time meeting Karen. Not knowing what kind of woman she specifically was, they found nothing wrong with her. They thought Karen was quite nice, very sweet—a little hottie.
The chat went very smoothly.
A few minutes later.
The young couple made a decision. "Okay, we'll rent it!"
Hearing this, Karen was excited. Even though renting out just one room didn't make much money, because it was the first time she had successfully rented a room out, she couldn't stop the excitement. She flashed a sweet smile immediately. "Great! Wait here a moment, I'll go get the contract."
The contracts were in the car.
After speaking, Karen moved nimbly and retrieved the contract.
Contract signed, money collected.
Looking at the cash in her hand, for the first time in her life, Karen felt a solid sense of accomplishment...
In a true sense, this was the first time she had earned money through her own labor...
She discovered she really liked this feeling. It felt great!
Subsequently, quite logically, she wanted more. A wave of motivation rose spontaneously!
She even thought that after renting out all the rooms in this apartment building and having a stable income, she should buy a second building, a third building...
Dexter is amazing!
This business is just too good!
Thinking about it, Karen silently praised him from the bottom of her heart.
Just then.
Her phone rang, interrupting Karen's train of thought.
Karen felt a burst of annoyance. She took out her phone, saw it was Lip calling, and rejected the call without a shred of hesitation.
She was truly unwilling to deal with that idiot Lip anymore. She had really had enough of Lip's stupidity.
Before long.
A voicemail appeared on Karen's phone. It was left by Lip.
Karen ignored it directly, clicked delete, and then put away her phone. She smiled brilliantly and strode away, planning to go home and post more ads online to rent out the rooms in the apartment as quickly as possible.
Getting into her car.
Karen stepped on the gas and drove toward home. At the same time, she took out her phone to call Dexter, wanting to share the good news that she had just rented out a room.
Dexter answered the phone.
Karen excitedly rattled off the story in one breath.
Dexter listened and smiled. "Very good. Keep up the good work."
"I think we can buy more apartment buildings in the future," Karen proposed her idea.
"No problem," Dexter agreed crisply. "You handle that apartment first. After that, I have dozens of empty houses over here. Maybe I can let you rent those out."
"!!!!" Hearing this, Karen was instantly thrilled. "Okay! I will definitely work hard!"
"Mm, that's it for now. I have things to do." Dexter hung up, smiled, stepped into Dex Fruit Store Branch 2, and walked toward Svetlana.